page_title: Byzantine–Seljuq wars
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Byzantine–Seljuq wars / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the boundaries of the western and eastern Roman empires after the death of Theodosius I, in 395 AD. &#160; Western Roman Empire &#160; Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire
context_page_description: The Byzantine–Seljuq Wars were a series of decisive battles that shifted the balance of power in Asia Minor and Syria from the Byzantine Empire to the Seljuqs. Riding from the steppes of Central Asia, the Seljuq replicated tactics practiced by the Huns hundreds of years earlier against a similar Roman opponent but now combining it with new-found Islamic zeal; in many ways, the Seljuq resumed the conquests of the Muslims in the Byzantine–Arab Wars initiated by the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abassid Caliphate in the Levant, North Africa and Asia Minor.
  Today, the Battle of Manzikert is widely seen as the moment when the Byzantines lost the war against the Turks; however the Byzantine military was of questionable quality before 1071 with regular Turkish incursions overrunning the failing theme system. Even after Manzikert, Byzantine rule over Asia Minor did not end immediately, nor were any heavy concessions levied by the Turks on their opponents – it took another 20 years before the Turks were in control of the entire Anatolian peninsula and not for long either.
context_section_description: The wars' distant origins lay in the formation of the Byzantine Empire from the collapsing Roman Empire in the 4th century. Prior to the formation of the Byzantine realm in the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire faced a severe military and political crisis; political assassinations and dangerous campaigning led to 32 Emperors seizing and losing power within 50 years of Roman history. Matters were made worse with an economic and demographic problem. The population of the Roman Empire began to fall in the 4th century due to a lack of conquest leading to a lack of slaves, a vital and significant group of people in the Empire. Reforms by Emperors like Constantine I and Theodosius I prolonged the Roman Empire but nonetheless the Empire split into Eastern and Western Halves in 395 AD. The Western Half (Western Roman Empire) was plagued by barbarian invasions, collapsing in 476 AD whilst the Eastern Half survived and began to undergo Hellenization transforming into what historians label today as the Byzantine Empire. Unlike the Western Half of the Roman Empire, the Eastern Half experienced fewer barbarian invasions although encounters with the Huns and Persians kept the Byzantines busy enough from making any serious recovery attempts in the West.
  In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Byzantines experienced several co-ordinated Arab invasions losing several vital provinces, such as Egypt and the Levant. A Byzantine resurgence under the Macedonian Dynasty allowed the Byzantines to reconquer parts of Syria and Mesopotamia; in particular were the efforts of Basil II who from the late 10th century to early 11th century transformed the Empire into the most powerful state in the Medieval World.
  Despite this, the Byzantines were far from safe. The decades after the death of Basil II saw a long series of crises and a severe weakening of imperial authority and military power. This included a succession crisis and a series of weak Emperors under the increasing influence of bureaucrats in Constantinople. At the same time the efforts to restrain the ambitious provincial aristocrats kept at bay during Basil II reign failed. With the successes of the previous century, the Byzantine state had acquired more land and wealth. The spoils of war saw the enrichment of the military aristocracy. More and more land owned by free peasants came under the control of this Dynatoi class by varying means from purchase to intimidation to outright robbery. One major consequence of this was the reduction in available manpower to serve in the imperial armies. Added to this were the internal rivalry between the bureaucrats and military aristocracy. Bureaucrats sought to reduce the power and likelihood of the aristocrats to launch rebellions by freeing the yeomanry of military duty in place of providing tax revenue. This further put strain on the manpower needed to defend imperial territory. The factions increasingly relied on mercenaries, but these highly ambitious soldiers were unreliable and lawless.
  For the twenty years preceding 1070, in almost every year there saw at least one major rebellion, including a large revolt of Armenians. This caused thematic armies to be drawn west or east depending on the rebellion and opened the borders to incursions by raiders whether the Normans of Sicily or Turkic horsemen from Central Asia or indeed the mercenaries roaming within the state. In addition, a combination of competition, rivalry and treachery between pretenders to the imperial throne saw the state paralysed to deal with the many issues facing the state.
  By 1070 during the march on Manzikert, the Byzantine state was in a very precarious position largely of its own making, even on the verge of collapse and failed to secure the Empire against external threats. The biggest threat to the Empire since the Arab invasions were the Turks. The Turks were much like the Byzantines former enemies, the Huns. Combining their excellent riding skills with Islamic zeal, the Turks who converted to Islam in the 7th and later 8th centuries were to become a formidable enemy to a Christian s
caption: The division of the Empire after the death of Theodosius I, ca.395 AD superimposed on modern borders.
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